Hi all! I've been wondering recently how close you can get to a living soil setup in a micro grow. I love the idea of true organics, teaming with microbes/fungi and all that good stuff, but I'm not sure it's feasible at the scale I'm working with. I have a 50x50x100cm tent, and am currently using 3 gallon fabric pots with some room to upscale. What do you think is possible at this kind of pot/tent size? I'll be posting a picture of my setup soon. Any help is much appreciated!
Grow Room Organic Micro Grow
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DMHeights
Growing flowers in dirt
Check out @Iriee Vibez in the organics section
He is absolutely killing organics in small pots(3gal),
Little top dresses, and healthy teas to get all those microbes working tip-top
Happy growing
He is absolutely killing organics in small pots(3gal),
Little top dresses, and healthy teas to get all those microbes working tip-top
Happy growing
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Three gallon will fill that tent to the bursting point depending on the strain. It's also only going to leave you with a foot to grow in, give or take. Be ready to wrangle a monster in that tiny tent.
I used to grow with TLO in 3 gallons all the time. I mixed my soil in a 55 qt rubbermaid tub and let it sit for a month or two, then I would fill my pots from that as needed for my 2x2 tent. With the size of yours that bin will last you a while. You can get a second bin going for depleted soil and dump your spent pots in there to mix and cook while you take from the first one. Basically a perpetual cycle of living soil on hand.
I used to grow with TLO in 3 gallons all the time. I mixed my soil in a 55 qt rubbermaid tub and let it sit for a month or two, then I would fill my pots from that as needed for my 2x2 tent. With the size of yours that bin will last you a while. You can get a second bin going for depleted soil and dump your spent pots in there to mix and cook while you take from the first one. Basically a perpetual cycle of living soil on hand.
GinFizzLuv
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Did you top dress or any other additional feeding?
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Sometimes I did. I have a nasty habit of winging it and not writing down how much and what I'm mixing into the soil. This means sometimes I'll get fantastic results that are mind blowing with just water, and sometimes I need to supplement. If my plants are hungry I'll with scratch some rainbow mix or guano into the top soil, or I'll feed with a bottled organic Fert like biobizz bloom or fish emulsion. I find some fish perks plants right up. I also like to make organic teas to give a boost to the microbes.
If you do end up growing in TLO soil, you're going to have to learn how to read your plants and what they want. Spend some time in the organics section reading up on TLO soil building and organic compost teas.
After that head over to the plant infirmary section and start reading up on nutrient deficiencies and what they look like. You WILL encounter these as you embark on your growing career/hobby, so it's best to get familiar with them before it's crisis time. Several members have posted up deficiencies charts that are stickied at the top, they are super helpful.
@old_wheezy I'd consider using a smaller pot in that tent if I were you. Maybe just fill your fabric pot 2/3 the way and roll the sides down? You're going to have to fight for every inch of headspace in that tiny tent, so look into pruning, low stress training (LST), and especially screen of green. I would definitely use screen of green (scrog) in that tent before the other options.
If you do end up growing in TLO soil, you're going to have to learn how to read your plants and what they want. Spend some time in the organics section reading up on TLO soil building and organic compost teas.
After that head over to the plant infirmary section and start reading up on nutrient deficiencies and what they look like. You WILL encounter these as you embark on your growing career/hobby, so it's best to get familiar with them before it's crisis time. Several members have posted up deficiencies charts that are stickied at the top, they are super helpful.
@old_wheezy I'd consider using a smaller pot in that tent if I were you. Maybe just fill your fabric pot 2/3 the way and roll the sides down? You're going to have to fight for every inch of headspace in that tiny tent, so look into pruning, low stress training (LST), and especially screen of green. I would definitely use screen of green (scrog) in that tent before the other options.
@OregonBlackBear Thanks for the response. So far I've been good at both training (and probably stunting) my plants to the degree that I haven't had size problems. It has been a bit of a jungle, perhaps to the plants' detriment, but still getting decent stuff out of it so I'm happy. More than happy to go with smaller pots, my main query is can I effectively use biology in such small spaces? I see a lot of people saying it's pointless under 10 gallons...
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Quite frankly, I would not take any growing advice from someone who said that. I've grown plenty of plants in TLO in three gallon pots and smaller. These MOB seem to be enjoying water only TLO in three gallon pots just fine.
@OregonBlackBear Damn, point proven! Your plants look great. The company I was going to buy the soil from were the ones that advised against small pots, so perhaps I should rethink my source haha. If you have any tips for such a setup it'd be much appreciated, been growing in Biobizz light with grow/bloom up until now.
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I just realized that I hit those plants with some fish once or twice, but the base soil is what fed them.
AFN Organics section
Super Soil Recipes
Take the time to peruse the organics section and learn about organics and super soil growing. Compost teas and super soil go hand in hand. And remember, if you tweak one of the recipes posted for your own use, don't get mad at the author if it doesn't work out.
AFN Organics section
Super Soil Recipes
Take the time to peruse the organics section and learn about organics and super soil growing. Compost teas and super soil go hand in hand. And remember, if you tweak one of the recipes posted for your own use, don't get mad at the author if it doesn't work out.
@OregonBlackBear I'll be avoiding fish based stuff as I don't do animal products, although I know it's rated by many so I'll have to do some digging to find an alternative. I've done a decent amount of learning about soil food web, KNF, compost teas etc but no first-hand experience with any of it yet, so I've definitely got more reading to do. Thanks a lot man, really appreciate the help!
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